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Quick Hits: Salazar, Dodgers, Mets, Asdrubal

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Oft-injured Indians right-hander Danny Salazar took a major league mound for the first time since 2017 on Thursday, but it wasn’t a triumphant return. Salazar lasted just four innings, in which he allowed two earned runs on four hits and three walks (with two strikeouts), in a 7-1 loss to Houston. It turns out Salazar was attempting to pitch through a groin issue, Joe Noga of cleveland.com was among those to cover. Salazar, who had been out with shoulder troubles, threw mostly changeups during his 66-pitch comeback and never exceeded 88.3 mph on the radar gun. That’s an enormous drop for a hurler who often overpowered hitters with 95 mph average fastball velocity from 2013-17. Salazar expressed confidence after the game that he’ll be fine, but the Indians will re-evaluate him Friday. It’s a situation that bears watching with the wild card-leading Indians’ rotation now much shallower in the wake of this week’s Trevor Bauer trade.

More on a couple other franchises…

  • The Dodgers’ Joc Pederson first base experiment is over for at least the time being, manager Dave Roberts told Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters Thursday. The outfielder has picked up 20 appearances at first this year, and during that 149-inning span, Pederson has made six errors and posted minus-3 Defensive Runs Saved. Right fielder Cody Bellinger will now shift to first against right-handed starters, while Pederson will take left, A.J. Pollock center and Alex Verdugo right in those situations. Max Muncy could handle first on occasion versus lefties, according to Roberts (Tyler White manned the position versus Padres southpaw Joey Lucchesi on Thursday).
  • More from Castillo, who writes that just-acquired Dodgers infielder Jedd Gyorko will begin a rehab assignment at the Double-A level Saturday. Gyorko, whom the Dodgers picked up in a trade with the Cardinals on deadline day, has been out since June 8 because of back and wrist issues. He’s eligible to come off the 60-day injured list next week, though he’ll first need to amass around 40 to 50 minor league at-bats, per Roberts.
  • Infielder Asdrubal Cabrera enjoyed a successful stint with the Mets from 2016 until they traded him to the Phillies last summer. Cabrera, who signed with the Rangers over the winter, is about to become a free agent after they designated him for assignment Wednesday, but the Mets don’t appear to have interest in a reunion, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets. Based on his subpar 2019 production, Cabrera wouldn’t be an upgrade over Mets No. 1 third baseman Todd Frazier. The rest of the club’s starting infield is spoken for with Pete Alonso at first, Robinson Cano at second and Amed Rosario at short, and reserve Adeiny Hechavarria is regarded as a much steadier defensive option than Cabrera.

Suspensions Issued After Pirates/Reds Brawl

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Tuesday’s enormous brawl between the Pirates and the Reds has, unsurprisingly, led to multiple suspensions on both teams.  Major League Baseball announced a total of 32 games’ worth of suspensions for six players, as well as a six-game suspension for Reds manager David Bell and a two-game ban for Pirates manager Clint Hurdle.  All six players will appeal their penalties, while Bell and Hurdle will begin serving their bans immediately.

Here is the full list of suspensions issued…

Fines were also issued to all six players.  Joey Votto, Philip Ervin, and Trevor Williams also received fines, as did players on both teams who participated in the fracas despite being on the injured list.

Beyond just the brawl that began when Garrett rushed from the mound to go after the Pirates’ dugout, the suspensions cover a wide range of incidents during the game.  Kela received the harshest punishment both “for his role in instigating the bench-clearing incident,” as per the league’s official release, and for throwing at Derek Dietrich’s head in the seventh inning.

There has been no love lost between the Pirates and Reds this season, as reflected in Hurdle’s suspension.  The Pittsburgh skipper was cited for not only “his Club’s conduct during the incident,” but also for “multiple intentional pitches thrown at Dietrich this season.”  Hurdle still received less punishment than Bell, whose six-game suspension was “for returning to the field following his ejection; escalating the incident with his aggressive actions; his Club’s intentional pitch at [Starling] Marte; and his numerous ejections this season.”

Indians Option Jake Bauers, Greg Allen To Triple-A

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The Indians have optioned first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers and outfielder to Greg Allen, the club announced.  The moves create 25-man roster space for Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes, the Tribe’s two new outfield acquisitions from their blockbuster three-team trade Tuesday with the Padres and Reds.

It’s been a tough first season in Cleveland for Bauers, as the left-handed bat has managed just a .233/.308/.379 slash line over 383 plate appearances for the Tribe.  Acquired along with Carlos Santana in another big three-team swap (with the Mariners and Rays last December), Bauers had top-100 prospect buzz surrounding him in Tampa Bay, and the Tribe were hopeful of a breakout.  While Bauers is still only 23 and could certainly still emerge in the future, his lack of production this year was undoubtedly a factor in the pennant-hungry Indians’ need to acquire such notable hitting upgrades in Puig and Reyes.

With Bauers and Allen in the minors, Puig will slide into everyday work in right field while Reyes will likely spend much of his time at DH.  The Tribe have Jordan Luplow and utilityman Mike Freeman as backup outfield options on the bench, making Allen expendable.

40-Man Moves: 7/31/19

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This has been a trade-filled day across Major League Basbeall, leaving plenty of smaller moves somewhat unnoticed. Here’s a look at the DFAs, contract selections and other 40-man transactions that came along with today’s action…

  • The Blue Jays have claimed right-hander Brock Stewart off waivers from the Dodgers, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Once a well-regarded prospect, the 27-year-old Stewart has only managed a 5.46 ERA/5.71 FIP in 84 innings since he debuted in the majors in 2016. Stewart has also experienced a nightmarish 2019 at the Triple-A level, where he has mustered a 7.34 ERA/7.22 FIP with 7.93 K/9 and 4.74 BB/9 in 76 innings.
  • The Nationals announced that they’ve designated righties Javy Guerra and Michael Blazek for assignment. The 33-year-old Guerra has divided the season between Washington and Toronto, combining for a 4.50 ERA/3.86 FIP with 7.36 K/9 and 3.07 BB/9 across 44 innings. Blazek, 30, threw just five innings for the Nationals before his designation. Prior to his addition to the Nats’ roster, Blazek recorded a 5.54 ERA/4.91 FIP with 9.69 K/9 and 3.46 BB/9 in 26 Triple-A innings.
  • The Athletics have designated righty Andrew Triggs and outrighted fellow righty Brian Schlitter to Triple-A Las Vegas, the club announced. The 30-year-old Triggs was a promising piece for the Athletics a couple seasons ago, but health issues – including September 2018 thoracic outlet syndrome surgery – have prevented him from making an impact of late. He hasn’t pitched in the majors at all this season. Schlitter, meanwhile, lost his briefly held 40-man spot with the A’s when they designated him Monday.
  • The Indians have designated infielder Eric Stamets, who opened the season as their starting shortstop on account of Francisco Lindor’s calf strain. Stamets, 27, struggled to a hideous .049/.149/.073 line in 48 plate appearances while filling in for the great Lindor. He has been better – albeit far from spectacular – at the Triple-A level, where he has hit .232/.313/.378 with six HRs and 12 steals in 262 PA this season.
  • The Brewers have designated left-hander Donnie Hart, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets. The 28-year-old has thrown 6 2/3 scoreless innings with the Brew Crew this season, though he has totaled more walks (four) than strikeouts (three). Hart has enjoyed a relatively productive campaign at the Triple-A level, where he has posted a 4.10 ERA/4.28 FIP with 7.23 K/9, 3.13 BB/9 and a 55.4 percent groundball rate in 37 1/3 innings.
  • The Mariners have selected righty Zac Grotz from Double-A Arkansas, the team announced. The 26-year-old Grotz, whom the Mariners signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, has registered a strong 2.51 ERA/2.74 FIP with 10.83 K/9, 1.73 BB/9 and a 57.9 percent groundball rate in 57 1/3 Double-A innings in 2019.
  • The Cubs have designated righty Oscar De La Cruz, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic relays. The 24-year-old De La Cruz entered the season as the Cubs’ 15th-ranked prospect, per FanGraphs, and has since pitched to a 3.89 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 81 innings divided between the High-A and Double-A levels.
  • The Diamondbacks have designated righty Joey Krehbiel, who had a brief MLB debut with the club last season. The 26-year-old has stumbled to an 8.25 ERA/7.25 FIP and notched 8.6 K/9 against 7.05 BB/9 in 52 1/3 Triple-A innings in 2019.
  • More on the Diamondbacks, who have transferred utilityman Blake Swihart to the 60-day injured list. Swihart has been on the IL with an oblique injury since the start of June, so this is just a procedural move on the D-backs’ part.

Reds Acquire Trevor Bauer In 3-Team Deal With Indians, Padres

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Last night’s stunning three-team trade is now official.  The Indians have traded star right-hander Trevor Bauer to the Reds, who sent back right fielder Yasiel Puig and lefty pitching prospect Scott Moss.  Cleveland also added a trio of players from the Padres: outfielder Franmil Reyes, young left-hander Logan Allen, and rookie-level infielder Victor Nova.  On the San Diego end of the swap, the Friars have landed much-hyped outfield prospect Taylor Trammell from the Reds.  Amazingly, the finishing touch on Puig’s brief Reds career was his involvement in a dust-up with the Pirates, which actually went down after the trade agreement was reached.  That finale may have edged out Bauer’s last impression as an Indian from Sunday.

At 49-55 and 6 1/2 games out of wild-card position, Cincinnati’s chances of earning a playoff spot this year appear close to dead. Nevertheless, the poor win-loss results the team has achieved this season didn’t deter president of baseball operations Dick Williams and general manager Nick Krall, whose goal is to make a more serious playoff push in 2020. The Reds may be in position to do that by picking up Bauer, who – barring more deals – could team with Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Anthony DeSclafani and Tyler Mahle to give the Reds one of the game’s best rotations next season. Cincinnati’s starting staff has been a formidable group without Bauer this year, but it could lose one or two veterans by Wednesday’s trade deadline. Tanner Roark and Alex Wood look like possible candidates to wind up on the move, but even if they stay put through the season, they’re not under contract beyond then.

The 28-year-old Bauer has been a quality, albeit somewhat frustrating, starter since he entered the pro ranks as the third overall pick of the Diamondbacks in 2011. He went to the Indians in a three-team trade in 2012 (which also involved the Reds) and has since pitched to a 3.89 ERA/3.95 FIP across 1,044 1/3 innings and 180 appearances (170 starts). Bauer was at his best last year, during which he earned Cy Young consideration on the strength of a splendid 2.21 ERA/2.44 FIP over 175 1/3 frames.

While Bauer hasn’t been as effective this season, he has still notched a solid 3.79 ERA/4.17 FIP with 10.63 K/9 against 3.62 BB/9 through a league-leading 156 2/3 innings. That was eminently valuable production to a Cleveland team which has been without Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger for significant parts of the season, but the Tribe nonetheless deemed Bauer expendable. In his final act as an Indian, Bauer fired a ball from the pitcher’s mound over the center field wall Sunday after a frustrating outing in Kansas City.

Clearly, Bauer’s on-field tantrum last weekend didn’t have an adverse affect on his trade value. The Indians are bringing back a major haul for Bauer, who’s making $13MM now, will earn an arbitration raise next season and has said he plans to go year to year in free agency thereafter. As a 62-44 team that holds the American League’s top wild-card spot and trails the AL Central-leading Twins by 2 1/2 games, the Indians were only going to trade Bauer if it helped them stay in contention this season. It appears this deal will enable them to accomplish that. It’ll also shave quite a bit of salary from the Indians’ 2020 books while giving them multiple potential long-term pieces.

Puig is only under control through this season, during which he’s making a $9.7MM salary, but will team with Reyes to help give the Indians the right-handed outfield/DH punch they’d been seeking on the trade market. With the Puig and Reyes acquisitions, the Indians have become the first team to ever land two 20-home run hitters in one midseason trade, Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out.

The 28-year-old Puig joined the Reds last winter in a previous blockbuster involving the Dodgers. Although Puig got off to a horrible start this season, his production has taken off over the past several weeks. Puig now owns a .252/.302/.475 slash with 22 home runs and 14 stolen bases (19 attempts) across 404 plate appearances. Long a capable defender in right field, Puig has also performed well in that aspect this year.

One of the key elements of this deal for Puig is that it completely wipes out the possibility of him receiving a qualifying offer after the season. Puig only looked like a borderline candidate for a QO, but now that he’s off the Reds, he’s on schedule to reach free agency unfettered over the winter.

Just as Bauer’s Indians stint ended in bizarre fashion, so did Puig’s days with the Reds. He was involved in a brawl during the Reds-Pirates game Tuesday when news of the trade came down. Puig may have to serve a suspension early in his Tribe tenure as a result.

There are no such concerns centering on Reyes, who has emerged as one of the game’s foremost power bats since he debuted a year ago. Although Reyes has struggled to consistently get on base this season, his first full campaign in the majors, the big-bodied 24-year-old has still batted .255/.314/.536 (117 wRC+) with 27 home runs in 354 PA. Given his prolific home run totals, Reyes could eventually rake in sizable sums via arbitration, but that isn’t something the Indians will have to worry about for the foreseeable future. Reyes isn’t on track to reach arbitration until after the 2021 season, and he’s not scheduled to become a free agent until the conclusion of the 2024 campaign.

Not to be forgotten, the Indians are also getting three less established players in this deal in Allen, Nova and Moss. The 22-year-old Allen entered the season as a top 100-caliber prospect. He has since struggled in a 25 1/3-inning major league sample and in 57 2/3 frames with Triple-A El Paso of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. However, Allen was still regarded as one of the many high-end prospects in a jam-packed Padres system. FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen ranked Allen as the Padres’ eighth-best farmhand back in May, writing that he “comfortably projects as a No. 4 starter.”

Nova, 19, was not grouped in with the Padres’ premier farmhands, but Longenhagen tweets that the infielder’s “an interesting, bat-first flier.” The Dominican Republic native has held his own this year in rookie ball, where he has batted .330/.421/.451 (136 wRC+) with seven steals in 109 PA.

Now 24, Moss became a Red when they used a fourth-round pick on him in 2016. The former Tommy John patient has since put up appealing results in the minors, including this year. In his first experience in Double-A ball, Moss has thrown 102 innings and recorded a 3.44 ERA/3.52 FIP with 10.85 K/9, though he has walked just over five hitters per nine. Moss ranked as the Reds’ 12th overall prospect at MLB.com, which notes he has a “somewhat limited” ceiling but could turn into a back-end starter or swingman at the MLB level.

The highest-ranked prospect in this trade is Trammell, whom Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law (subscriptions required) placed near the top of the sport in their most recent updates. BA rates Trammell 41st, while Law’s even more bullish (No. 14). This hasn’t been a hugely effective season for the 21-year-old Trammell, who has batted .236/.350/.338 (108 wRC+) with six homers and 17 steals in 377 PA during his initial taste of Double-A action. However, youth and injuries have played a part in Trammell’s unspectacular output, explains Law, who contends the youngster has the tools to become “a good regular or a star” in left field.

The Padres, of course, surrendered a substantial amount to acquire the unproven Trammell. But trading Reyes will somewhat enable the club to alleviate its current logjam in the outfield. With Reyes out of the mix, the Padres still have two starting-caliber corner outfield options in Hunter Renfroe and the maligned, expensive Wil Myers. They also have rookie Josh Naylor, Travis Jankowski and Franchy Cordero as 40-man options who are either in the minors or injured at present.

Weighing all the pieces in this trade, it’s all the more surprising the Blue Jays couldn’t reel in a greater return for righty Marcus Stroman this past weekend. At $7.4MM, Stroman’s cheaper than Bauer, under control for the same period and has arguably been the better of the two this season. Nevertheless, in a trade with the Mets, the Jays were only able to secure two non-elite prospects – pitchers Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson – for Stroman. There was plenty of chatter afterward that teams were clinging to their prospects and unwilling to give up truly outstanding young talent anymore, but this three-way deal shows that isn’t the case.

Jeff Passan of ESPN broke the news of the deal. Additional players involved were conveyed by Jon Heyman of MLB Network, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Dennis Lin of The Athletic, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pitching Rumors: Reds, Bauer, Yanks, Phils, MadBum, Greene, Fish, Nats

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The Reds just agreed to acquire right-hander Trevor Bauer from the Indians on Tuesday evening. Could the Reds now turn around and flip Bauer by Wednesday’s trade deadline? Not likely, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Meanwhile, two of Bauer’s new Cincinnati rotation mates – Alex Wood and the previously reported Tanner Roark – have drawn interest from the Phillies. Philly has “taken a very close look at” Wood, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Wood finally just made his season debut Sunday after months of back troubles, but the non-contending Reds could now attempt to get what they can for the pending free agent. The 28-year-old Wood, who’s on a $9.65MM salary, posted quality production with the Braves and Dodgers from 2013-18.

A smorgasbord of other pitcher-related rumors…

  • Despite their recent run of excellence, the Giants are fielding calls and “engaging in negotiations” for starter Madison Bumgarner and reliever Will Smith, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The Astros are reportedly among the teams chasing Bumgarner, but Smith is the more likely of the two to find himself in a new uniform by Wednesday, Schulman suggests. Although he’s a pending free agent, it’s likely Smith would bring back a significant return. He’s affordable ($4.225MM salary) and enjoying a marvelous season as the Giants’ closer.
  • Back to Bauer, who was reportedly one of the Yankees’ preferred targets in their search for starting help. That may have been overblown, though, as the Yankees and Indians didn’t engage in “serious talks” over Bauer, Andy Martino of SNY relays.
  • The asking price for Tigers closer Shane Greene is “far more reasonable” than the requests for other high-end relievers around the league, Feinsand tweets. Feinsand points to the Pirates’ Felipe Vazquez, the Reds’ Raisel Iglesias, the Mets’ Edwin Diaz and the Padres’ Kirby Yates as relievers who would be much harder to acquire, which isn’t surprising.
  • Reliever Nick Anderson is among Marlins hurlers garnering interest, though he’ll be difficult to pry loose, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com writes. As a 29-year-old rookie, the hard-throwing Anderson has put up a 3.92 ERA with a much better 2.73 FIP in 43 2/3 frames this season. While Anderson has only induced ground balls at a 27.3 percent clip, he has helped offset that by racking up a prodigious 14.2 strikeouts against 3.3 walks per nine. Adding to his value, Anderson’s on a league-minimum salary and won’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2021 season.
  • The Giants and Nationals “have discussed” southpaw Drew Pomeranz, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. Pomeranz, whom the Giants recently demoted to their bullpen amid a rough season, has also been drawing interest from elsewhere in recent days.

Latest On Yasiel Puig

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7:05pm: There are “mixed opinions” in regards to Atlanta’s interest, per Heyman, who names the Indians and Rays as teams that seem to be eyeing Puig. He’s not the first right-handed slugger Cleveland and Tampa Bay have been connected to in recent days.

6:45pm: The Braves, known to be on the lookout for outfield help, have shown interest in the Reds’ Yasiel Puig, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

The outfield may not have been a significant concern for the Braves until they lost starting right fielder Nick Markakis to a fractured wrist over the weekend. Markakis will likely be on the shelf until sometime in September. In the meantime, the Braves will continue trying to maintain their lead in the National League East. They currently hold a 4 1/2-game advantage over the Nationals, who were 7 1/2 back just a couple weeks ago.

As things stand, the Markakis-less Braves have Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley, Ender Inciarte and Adam Duvall as their top four outfielders. Aside from the great Acuna, there’s no surefire producer in the bunch. The rookie Riley began his career with a flourish, but his numbers have plummeted as the season has progressed, and they’ve been especially woeful in July. Inciarte, normally a solid all-around player, has been rather poor at the plate this season. And though Duvall (acquired from the Reds last summer) was a 30-home run hitter twice in a row in Cincinnati from 2016-17, he was so subpar between Cincy and Atlanta in 2018 that it took Markakis’ injury for him to earn a call-up to the Braves’ roster this year.

Enter Puig? The Reds are reportedly open to dealing the ex-Dodger, whom they acquired in the offseason. Puig’s a pending free agent, so unless the out-of-contention Reds plan to extend or qualify him, it would make sense to trade the 28-year-old this week. The mercurial Puig got off to a terrible start this year as he began his Cincy tenure, but he has been far better over the past several weeks. In all, Puig owns a .254/.304/.478 line with 22 home runs and 13 steals (18 attempts) across 401 plate appearances. Meanwhile, Puig has continued to serve as an asset in right (3 Defensive Runs Saved, 0.7 Ultimate Zone Rating), per defensive metrics. He’s also reasonably priced, albeit not cheap, with a $9.7MM salary.

Trevor Bauer Drawing Increased Interest; Reds Have Inquired

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There’s been an “uptick” in the level of trade interest in Indians righty Trevor Bauer today, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription required). Rosenthal adds that the Indians are becoming increasingly tempted to make a deal. Joel Sherman of the New York Post, meanwhile, tweets that several executives throughout the league now believe the Indians are more likely to trade Bauer than to keep him.

More interestingly, Rosenthal tweets that the Reds and Indians have had discussions about a potential Bauer swap. Outfield prospect Taylor Trammell has been a part of those topics, Rosenthal notes, although Trammell is in the midst of a down season in Double-A and doesn’t exactly fit the bill of a big-league-ready asset the Reds can plug directly onto the 25-man roster. Cleveland is marketing Bauer more due to looming payroll concerns than because the organization is waving a white flag on the current season, and the common line of thinking has been that they’d need an immediate roster supplement in order to consider parting with Bauer.

Cincinnati’s interest, too, suggests that the club isn’t giving up on its push to end its ongoing rebuild. The Reds added Sonny Gray, Tanner Roark, Alex Wood and Yasiel Puig over the winter in an effort to contend in the NL Central. Those efforts didn’t put the club in contention for a division title, but Gray looks reborn as a quality starter and was extended for three more years. While Roark and Wood are slated to hit free agency (as is Puig), Bauer would give the Reds another option for the 2020 rotation. The trio of Bauer, Gray and Luis Castillo would become on of the more formidable top three in the game and would position Cincinnati well for a 2020 push before even reaching the offseason.

Unsurprisingly, it seems that the recent outburst in which Bauer hurled a ball over the center field fence out of being frustration upon being lifted from a start hasn’t deterred clubs from expressing interest. That incident resulted in a fine for Bauer but not a suspension, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, but there won’t be any additional action from the league. Indians skipper Terry Francona spoke of potentially levying some additional team-issued discipline for Bauer (link via Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com), but that would of course only come into play if Bauer remains with Cleveland beyond tomorrow afternoon’s deadline.

Interest in Bauer has been fairly widespread, with the Padres, Yankees and Astros all linked to the right-hander (in addition to the aforementioned Reds). Houston has had “recent” talks about Bauer, tweets MLB.com’s Jon Morosi, though it’s not clear whether that’s indicative of talks earlier today or simply confirmation of the prior talks that have been reported upon in recent weeks.

Trade Interest In Justin Smoak Escalating

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Trade interest in Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak is “picking up,” tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman connected the Indians to Smoak earlier today, and Nicholson-Smith adds the Rays as a team of interest as well. Several contenders have expressed interest in Smoak, per Nicholson-Smith. Notably, he’s not in the lineup tonight for the Blue Jays.

Toronto has been one of the few clear sellers on the summer market, having already departed with Marcus Stroman and David Phelps in the past 48 hours. The 32-year-old Smoak, a free agent following the 2019 season, is a logical player to deal away, too, even if the return on him doesn’t prove overwhelming. Smoak won’t be a candidate to receive a qualifying offer, so there’s added incentive to take the most appealing option presented between now and tomorrow afternoon’s trade deadline.

The switch-hitting Smoak’s batting average is down this season, but he’s walking at a career-best 16.7 percent clip and once again demonstrating above-average power. In 359 plate appearances, he’s hit .215/.357/.427 — good for a 110 OPS+ and a 108 wRC+ (which is to say he’s been about eight to ten percent better than league average from an offensive standpoint, even after accounting for his hitter-friendly home park). Smoak’s 19.8 percent strikeout rate is actually the lowest of his career, and he’s not popping up at an exorbitant level either. Rather, the key to his diminished average could be a fluky .220 average on balls in play (which checks in well south of his career .267 level).

Smoak is earning a reasonable $8MM salary in 2019 with about $2.71MM of that sum yet to be paid out between now and season’s end. With the Jays dealing away short-term assets, it seems likely that Smoak will be wearing a new uniform this time tomorrow.

Indians To Activate Danny Salazar

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The Indians will activate right-hander Danny Salazar from the 60-day injured list prior to Thursday’s contest, manager Terry Francona announced to reporters (Twitter link via Mandy Bell of MLB.com). Salazar, who is currently stretched out to about 70 pitches, will start that game and be followed by righty Adam Plutko if necessary. Cleveland will need to make a 40-man roster move to open a spot for Salazar.

Thursday will mark the first time Salazar has set foot on a big league mound in nearly two years. The talent possessed by the oft-injured righty is obvious, but shoulder troubles that ultimately necessitated surgery have put his career on hold for nearly 24 months. Salazar posted mixed results in that 2017 season, logging a pedestrian 4.28 ERA but averaging 12.7 K/9 in that 2017 season. From 2015-16, he notched a 3.63 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 in 322 1/3 innings.

Now 29 years old, Salazar returns to the Cleveland pitching staff as an x-factor. He long stood out as a potential top-of-the-rotation arm with the Indians, as many believed him just an adjustment or two away from elevating his performance to another tier. At the same time, given that he’s dealt with shoulder and elbow troubles dating back to the 2016 season, it’d be unrealistic to expect that Salazar simply bounces right back to form and locks down a spot in the Cleveland rotation. While such an outcome is a best-case scenario, banking on him doing so is rather ambitious after such a lengthy injury absence. There’s been prior talk of using Salazar in the bullpen as well, and that could eventually emerge as an option the organization chooses to explore.

The Indians have trimmed the Twins’ lead in the division back to two games, though Cleveland faces an imposing stretch on the schedule beginning tonight. They’re set to begin a three-game set against the Astros before moving onto series against the Angels, Rangers, Twins, Red Sox and Yankees in succession.

Salazar’s return comes at a pivotal time for the Indians, as they’ve reportedly been mulling trade offers for Trevor Bauer even as they climb back into the AL Central race. As the Indians determine precisely which course to chart with regard to Bauer, they’ll also be closely monitoring the status of two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber. Out for two-plus months due to a forearm fracture, Kluber is set to throw a simulated game this weekend (Twitter link via Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal). He could then progress to pitching in an actual game setting, though that next step will be dependent on how he feels following this weekend’s session.

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